Henry is FIVE

Henry is 5 today! I know I should probably say, "Wow, I can't believe he is that old."  But honestly, It is so hard for me to imagine life without him, so I really can't believe it has only been 5 years.  This has been a huge year for Henry.  He has grown and changed so much.  That said, he is still just as sweet and snugly as he has always been.

Henry has developed a love of learning and really came out of his shell this year in Pre-K.  His language has improved tremendously and I can hardly get him to stop asking questions. He knows his letters and numbers and is starting to read simple words. If you put him on the spot, he will pretend he doesn't want to do it, but I will secretly catch him sounding out letters.  He listens well in class and can focus on the task at hand, so this boy is all set to start kindergarten in the fall.

Henry dove into sports this year.  He played flag football, which was a hoot to watch.  He was none to happy about getting his own flag pulled though.  He absolutely fell in love in baseball.  He played T-ball this spring and can't get enough of batting.  I need to improve my pitching skills!

Henry still loves to play dress-up and can be seen walking Aubrey to school in a variety of super-hero costumes.  He is quite the comedian with the right audience.  He loves his sister dearly and longs to play with her more than anyone else.  In true sisterly fashion, she knows this and uses it to her advantage.  If she isn't in the mood to play, he melts into a crying heap.  I can see her smiling at this. Stinker.

Henry loves to play games, especially card games, Farkle, and Sorry.  As you can tell, Henry is slightly into "Army" and anything camo.  He also loves doing puzzles.  He is less trilled with art projects.  As I mentioned, he has a pretty great sense of humor and loves to make people laugh.  I can already see him trying to use humor to get out of trouble.  Oh boy.

Henry opted out of a big party this year.  I've determined that he tends to feel most comfortable in small groups.  Instead, he took his best buddy Hodges from school to a baseball game last weekend.  We had four tickets, so I assumed he would take Aubrey or me.  Oh no, he wanted to take his T-ball coach!  Ha.  Luckily, the coach is his buddy's dad and he was willing to oblige.  They boys had a great time and ended up with two game balls, bellies full of junk food, and some baseball bats.  They came straight home and spent more time playing ball.  

Today, we met friends at the park, had a lunch date (just Henry and me), and then had some neighbors and Hodges over for cake... camo, of course.

Plotting their war strategy at the park

New batting gloves

The Army/camo cake

What was on the inside... 

A very happy boy

I knew if I let one single day pass without writing this, it might never get done (I'm 7 months late on Aubrey's).   I'm so glad I did.  It makes my heart smile to think of all the joy Henry brings to our lives.  And finally, we had some time together today to talk about his favorite things...

What is your favorite food?

A: Cheese Pizza

What is your favorite book?

A: Star Wars 123

What is your favorite color?

A: turquoise and violet

What is your favorite song?

A: That One Thing - One Direction

What is your favorite toy?

A: toy guns

What is your favorite thing about Pre-K?

A: The playground

What is your favorite movie/show?

A: Return of the Jedi (I think he has seen 5 mins of this)

What is your favorite game?

A: War (card game)

What is your favorite thing to wear?

A: camo

Who do you miss?

A: GiGi and Granda and grandma and grandpa 

Who is your favorite sister?

A: Aubrey

Who do you love?

A: mommy and daddy and sister and GiGi

What was the best part about being 4?

A: Going to Pre-K

What do you want to be when you grow up?

A: An Army man

Who is your best friend?

A: Hodges and Carson

Colorado, Aug 2012

We are back from a fantastic trip to beautiful Colorado (yes, I started this in August and it's now Jan 2013, and I will be posting about our 2nd trip to Colorado soon).  I really do think that part of my heart is always there.  I was born there, visited a lot growing up, worked at a Young Life camp there one summer in college, lived there again for a brief stint as an adult, and will jump at any chance to go back.

My parents take their Airstream to a place called Priest Gulch every August.  This year we decided to tag along and rented a small cabin at the same campground.  We were near a tiny town called Rico on the Delores River (not too far from Telluride).  The location was absolutely beautiful.  The San Juan National Forest was all around, and the mountains were breathtaking.

We spent a lot of time in the car this trip, which wasn't ideal, but the views were so incredible it was worth just about every minute.  We took some hikes, played in the river, went fishing, roasted marshmallows, rode the gondola in Telluride twice, spent the day at Hidden Lake with some of my parents' friends, went horseback riding, and even took the kids swimming at the public pool (in the rain).  It was a fantastic week.

We were sad to come home, but we are so thrilled to know that we will be back in the area more often. My parents bought a cabin on the most beautiful mountain lake, Trout Lake, so we will surely spend a lot of time there from here on out.

The Delores River from our cabin porch

Exploring the Priest Gulch Campground

Our cabin from the other side of the river

Fishing the Delores. No luck this year.

Aubrey's first real trail ride! She was hooked.  

Another great hike.

Many of you have commented about the setting for our Christmas card.  These photos were taken at a place called Hidden Lake, HIGH up in the mountains. My parents have friends with a cabin there, surrounded my national forest, that is only accessible in the summer.  It was a bumpy drive up but worth every bump.  

Henry outside their cabin

On their porch.

Fishing on Hidden Lake

Down, yes down, the mountain at 10,000 feet is the amazing Trout Lake. My parent's new cabin sits on the south side, which is just out of frame to the right...

Trout Lake before an afternoon shower

Telluride is a very family friendly place and I can't wait to take more advantage of that.  They have the only free gondola in the US!

Bunggggggggeeeeeeeeeee at the Mountain Village. Only grandparents would say yes to the kids' plea.

Hike to Hope Lake (above the tree line). I think I went to bed at 5pm that night.

What an INCREDIBLE day and view

Our last night by the fire.

Let's be honest.

Yes, this blog has really, really, gone  down hill.  Sigh.  I remember the days when posting was on my short list of things to do.  Now, it hasn't even made the long list.  The good news is I've been very busy. That is also the bad news.  Somehow this Fall I became a working mom.  It's been two years since I officially started my business, but up until now, it really was a part time/when I have time thing.  Well, orders picked up, more requests came in, and I just kept saying yes.  But here's the thing... I'm still a full time mom.  Yes, Aubrey is in school most of the day now, but Henry is still home more than he is at pre-school.  I'm still the one that has to get everyone where they need to be on time, the one that needs to feed everyone, clean, play, console, make appointments, do laundry, document milestones, etc.  I have volunteer commitments too with the Junior League and at the kids' schools.  I am also a Deacon at our church.  Plus, I've been undergoing alternative treatment for my aching back and hip (and it's not fun I tell you).

So, I am going to admit that I let things get out of control.  I thought I could do it all.  I want to be able to do it all.  I still want to be the one to do all of those things I mentioned above. But the reality is this...  I was staying up some nights until 1 or 2am to get work done.  Family "meals" have become somewhat of a joke.  Brian and I are lucky if we get any time to really talk after the kids are in bed, and when we do, it's usually me saying that I am so swamped and stressed and sad that I can't get everything done.  The funny part about all of this was that when I started my business, it was designed to bring more joy to my life.  I was in the throws of toddlerhood.  It was exhausting!  I didn't (and still don't) enjoy the daily grind of household chores, and I needed some sort of outlet of my own.  But I did not NOT want to be a stay at home mom.  I did not want to hand over control of the parenting part of my day.  I would gladly hand over the cleaning, which I have finally done on a regular basis, but what ended up happening was that I started doing almost everything I was doing before AND building a business.  Initially the joy and excitement of sharing my talents carried me along.  But the balance has shifted, and basically, there is no balance.

On paper, I had a very successful year (especially considering we didn't pay a nanny, or for childcare for me to operate the business).  But my body and mind tell a very different story.  I completed my holiday orders last week. Whew.  That is when it hit me.   I hadn't started Christmas shopping.  I hadn't taken any decent photographs of my own family this fall for our Christmas card.  I hadn't updated this blog since SEPTEMBER!  I hadn't had a relaxed playdate with my kids in who knows how long.  I had missed out on time with friends. My whole body hurt, I was completely exhausted, my immune system was down, and I ended up in bed for two straight days this weekend with strep throat. I am crying "uncle!"

Whoever said that women can have it all lied.  LIED I tell you.  No one can have it all.  Everyone has to sacrifice.  We are all in too much of a hurry.  We all think we are in control.  I pray that this Christmas will not come and go in a hurry.  I want to cherish this time off with my family.  There is so much suffering in the world.  Why do I create my own suffering when I can choose some moments of peace?  Can you tell I have been reading a book about being a hurried mom?  (It's great, by the way... Mitten Strings for God, and it's even better that I have time to read it).  I love being a mom. It is HARD, but I do love it.  I love being creative, but it doesn't have to make every other part of my life more difficult.  I can find a balance, and I'm going to take some time this next month to make sure I don't get completely off track again.  I'm going to stop putting pressure on myself to do it all.  So if I don't update this blog that much... oh well.  Right?  Going to take some time to live again: to play cars on the floor with Henry, to listen to Aubrey read to me (and REALLY listen), to pray more, to love my husband more, and to just LIVE more.  I hope you will too.

Merry Christmas!

Henry goes to Pre-K

Henry just started school at St. Matthew's for what will probably be his last year of pre-school .  After A LOT of thought and prayer, we decided to send Henry to a new school for pre-k.  It was so hard to leave Covenant after so many years.  It just seemed like the right move for Henry.  He is in a four day pre-k class and has two dedicated teachers. They are both so nice and have made Henry feel more than welcome.  A huge bonus this year is that the school is only 1 block from our house!  I can now walk both kids to school.  This is HUGE.  Henry knew that he was changing schools last year, and would always wave to his new school.  As the time drew nearer, I could tell he was a little apprehensive.  But to be honest, he would have been that way going back to Covenant too.  Anytime we had a break from school, he would feel a little uneasy about going back.  For the few weeks leading up to the start of school, he kept saying he didn't want to go.  But on the morning of, he was up and excited and telling me to come on!  We walked with our neighbor Hannah who is also in his class.  I was so thankful that he knew at least one other child.  As we got closer, he started dragging a bit.  Once to his room, he unpacked his things just like always and found his place at the table.  The teacher was so thoughtful to put him by Hannah.  He didn't skip a beat.  We haven't had any tears, but he does hold on to my hand a bit longer some days.  That's OK with me.

We are excited for the year ahead and can't wait to see how much he grows!

Looking excited!

 Right outside his room. Not so thrilled now.

And now we're getting right to work!  

First Grade

I am so behind on all my posts, but if I wait to catch up, it could be forever!  So I will be posting some things out of order.  Thank you for understanding.  I'm sure that was at the top of your worry list today.

Anyway, last Monday was Aubrey's first day of school.  I can't believe we have a "grader" now.  I have to say, the school year kind of snuck up on us.  We had a REALLY great summer, our first real summer, and it just flew by without warning.  I think we are ready for routine and for some sibling separation, but I don't think any of us are ready for the crazy early mornings and busy afternoons.  Aubrey never once complained last year about school, so I was a little surprised when she didn't seem super excited about going back.  I think she was just sad that summer was over.  There were no pre first day nerves this year though, at least not that I could tell, because her teacher is the same.  Mrs. Langham "looped up" with the entire class, so she has all her old buddies in her class again.  There is one change.  Mrs. Langham is co-teaching this year with Mrs. Hobbs. She will teach them science, math and social studies, and Mrs. Langham will focus on Language Arts.  We are so excited about this!  We love Mrs. Langham and Aubrey's reading has come so far with her, but I think it will help bring some excitement to Aubrey's day to have Mrs. Hobbs.  She is a hoot and the kids just love her. Because she already knew her class and teacher, I think it just seemed like a continuation of last year to her.  No big deal.  Don't get me wrong, she was still up early on day one and excited to go!

Anyway, we made our first day of school walk this year with our neighbors.  Clara is starting Kinder.  Henry, Aubrey and Clara have become so close and I love that we can start our day off walking with friends.  Henry is just bummed he doesn't get to stay. I'm hoping that means he'll be ready to stay next year!

Here's to another great year!